Legal and Finance Finance
Property Buying Mistakes Which Cost
Although the credit crunch seems is in full swing, the appetite for buying property in the Greek Islands seems little diminished. The British and Irish alone have nearly 4 million overseas properties and experts predict that this will grow enormously over the next five years: then there are the other foreign buyers, on top of which is a heavy influx of Russians, Germans and Scandanivians. If you're thinking of becoming a Greek Island property buyer we take a look at ten costly buying mistakes which are most frequently made when buying overseas.
Living the Greek Island Dream and Pensions
‘Living the dream': the catchall phrase for getting out of the rat race, buying a Greek Island property and emigrating to the warmer climes of Greece, is often a misnomer. Whilst expats in the Greek isles maintain that quality of life is certainly much improved by a move here, everyday reality soon returns once you have settled in and the country starts to feel like home. Most expats under retirement age have bills to pay and an income to earn, kids to enroll in school and medical issues to sort out, but one area that keeps getting pushed to the back of our minds, or worse still not even thought about, is pension and retirement planning.
Taxation in Greece 2009
With the tax return deadline approaching for employees and pensioners in Greece, we explore the 2009 taxation situation for owners of Greek property, and those who reside or work in the country.
Greek Island Expats: Pound and Euro
Those who have already bought property and are living on the Greek Islands are now having to adopt a whole new mindset when it comes to the plummet of the British pound against the euro. Although the exchange rate of the British Pound to euro has improved a little since the end of 2008, the erosion of sterling and the dollar means less spending power for expats who are reliant on funds from back home.
Opening a Bank Account
The banking facilities on most islands are very good and have improved tremendously over the last 10 years. Nevertheless the Greek banking system works much slower than that in Western Europe. Greece has 20 domestic banks operating across the country including the islands.